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March 2015

Last November, I announced that I had gone back to school to pursue a new career, and I reached out for help keeping Alameda covered while I make the transition. But there’s one more job that we’ll soon need to fill: Editor of The Alamedan.

I usually stand up before you to discuss issues facing my members or our district as a whole, but tonight I would like to begin speaking more personally. I want to talk to you about why I teach in Alameda.

Joi Lin Blake knows the potential that can be unlocked by obtaining an education. She has spent her professional life helping those who need a hand obtaining the academic knowledge and training needed for success.

If you’ve been wanting to become a Bay Area coffee connoisseur, Indie Coffee Passport East Bay can get you on your way, and a few Alameda cafes – Beanery, Wescafe and Beulah’s Bean Truck – are among the 22 cafes participating.

Development of Site A (or any portion of Alameda Point) can’t proceed unless four of the council’s five members agree to move forward. So if two council members have already said they oppose building homes at Alameda Point, what are the chances that the development will move forward?

As we observe Wound Care Awareness Week, it’s important to recognize that chronic wounds are a burden that touches 6.5 million people in the United States. Chronic wounds are wounds that do not heal in a timely manner and risk infection up to and including sepsis, amputation or even death.

The Encinal Jets – and the Junior Jets – are about to become one big, happy family.

Tonight, the school board will consider whether to combine Encinal High School and the Junior Jets middle school program on the Encinal campus into a single school. If the board grants its okay, the new school will be called Encinal Junior/Senior High School.

Harbor Bay ferry riders who are struggling to find someplace to park may soon have new legal, on-street options. But some homeowners who live near the ferry terminal say they want better parking enforcement, not relaxed restrictions.

Over the past several months I’ve posted pieces on the phenomenon of rising rents to this blog, in an effort to explain what’s happening with the local rental market, why, and what is (or isn’t) being done to address those issues. (I’ve posted additional stories on rising rents and declining availability outside of the blog; more on those in the paragraphs that follow.)

Dick Stevens worked full time at the corner Chevron station. His main car, until it met a brick wall at the end of Flower Lane, was a ‘47 Ford convertible powered by Oldsmobile. Dick was given this ‘49 Chevy four-door sedan. With nothing better to do, we used to ride around town.

Island commuters who are already facing delays due to work on the High Street Bridge will soon face a fresh obstacle to their commute: Reconstruction of the I-880’s 29th Avenue overcrossing, which sits in Oakland just across the Park Street Bridge.

Park Street lacked a brewery where hops lovers could enjoy some high quality suds. But that space is now being ably filled by the brand-new Alameda Island Brewing Company, a welcome addition to Park Street and the Island that sits on the old Cavanaugh Motors spot just a stone’s throw from the Park Street Bridge.

City Council members voted Tuesday to abandon a proposed moratorium on development applications that seek a break on Measure A and other development standards to help facilitate construction of affordable housing.

Gone are the days when our sleepy Island rolled up the sidewalks at sundown and the only action to be found on Park Street was the jukebox at the Buckhorn. Nights in Alameda are now alive and buzzing with unique events and creative gatherings all over town, just waiting for folks to venture out and join in on some good ol’ fashioned fun.

A few months ago, I received an exciting phone call: I’d been selected as one of a half dozen teens and women to be honored this month by Girls Inc. of the Island City as one of its Women Who Dare.

The awards luncheon will take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. March 28 at the Albert H. DeWitt Officers Club, 641 West Redline Avenue, Alameda Point. Tickets are $60 and are available online, and the money supports Girls Inc. of the Island City’s programs, which range from science to sports and self-defense. This year’s theme is Risk, Resiliency, and Reward.

Traveling on foot or bicycle through the tunnels that connect Alameda’s West End with downtown Oakland is a loud, soot-covered experience, and commute hour car traffic can be a hassle. But shuttle services provided by the City of Alameda and developers looking to fulfill their responsibility to manage tube traffic provide another option.

We were in need of a new challenge. Someone remembered the old orange crate coasters we built as kids. Why didn’t we improve on that concept? Let’s take a piece of 2’x4’ and an old steel shoe skate, merge them, and try balancing.

The City Council is set to consider leasing a waterfront site that could be home to the first construction project at Alameda Point – a maintenance and operations center for the Bay Area’s public ferry service.

Here's the thing. Aging imposes new rules on living, and one whole subset of rules governs eating: when, how much, how often and how bland. It also drives bedtime ever closer to getting-out-of-bed time.

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